A recent ad in 24×7 Magazine suggests that only Siemens sells real OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts. This ad (at the end of this article) is very misleading, as it is intended to be. Everybody sells original OEM parts. No one but the OEM make parts for medical equipment. There is a thriving alternate source for medical equipment components, circuit boards and other parts that break. The reason that this market exists is because other companies besides the original OEM can repair and resell parts much more inexpensively than the OEM can.

Oh, and another thing – many OEMs would have you believe that the parts they sell are brand new, unlike the old, traded-in parts that other companies would sell you. Well, not true. Why do you think that everybody (including the OEMs) require a trade-in of the broken part when you buy a replacement part? It is so they can repair and resell it, just like the third party independents do.

I know of a hospital system in Milwaukee that tracked out-of-the-box failures of newly received medical parts. The OEMs parts failed at a higher rate than those parts received from alternate sources.

And let me tell you about the claim of savings of “up to 40%”. “Up to” means that all parts are not included at the maximum discount. Additionally, the 40% refers to 40% from the original price of the part – the suggested retail price. Every biomed and clinical engineer in the US knows that 40% off of list is nothing. Real OEM parts can be found from many sources at discounts far exceeding the 40% advertised in this ad.

The real message here is that advertisements are full of misleading information. You have to read everything with a skepticism born of experience. Have a wonderful day. Pat